IFP Advisors Inc Purchases 10,153 Shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 521.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,101 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,153 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $2,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NSC. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Norfolk Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Norfolk Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 75.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Norfolk Southern

In related news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $259.86 per share, with a total value of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares in the company, valued at $646,271.82. This trade represents a 32.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $249.37 per share, with a total value of $87,279.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NSC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.11.

Norfolk Southern Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $243.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $206.71 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.79.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.